Opposite The Grand Gate Stands A Fair And Sumptuous Tomb,
Most Artificially Inlaid With Mother-Of-Pearl, And Inclosed By A Stone
Ballustrade Curiously Carved; The Ceiling Being Curiously Plastered And
Painted.
In this tomb is deposited the body of a calender, or
Mahometan devotee, at whose cost the whole of this splendid mosque was
built.
Under the court-yard is a goodly tank of excellent water; none
other being to be had in the whole extent of the city, except brackish
and corroding, by the use of which so great a mortality was occasioned
among the inhabitants of this city, that Akbar left it before it was
quite finished, and removed his seat of empire to Agra, so that this
splendid city was built and ruined in the space of fifty or sixty years.
The name of this place at first was Sykary, signifying seeking or
hunting: But on his return from his pilgrimage to Ajmeer, and the
subsequent birth of his son Selim, the present emperor, Akbar, changed
its name to Futtipoor, or the city of content, or heart's desire
obtained. Without the walls, on the N.N.W. side of the city, there is a
goodly lake of two or three coss in length, abounding with excellent
fish and wild-fowl; all over which grows the herb producing the
hermodactyle, and another bearing a fruit like a goblet, called
camolachachery, both very cooling fruits. The herb which produces the
hermodactyle, is a weed abounding in most tanks near Agra, which
spreads over the whole surface of the water.
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